welcome to "newsline." it's tuesday, december 11th. i'm catherine kobayashi in tokyo. the president tried to calm public anger by giving him wide powers. he rejected the call to scrap the referendum on saturday. they called for large scale demonstration on tuesday. morsi's islamist supporters have been besieging a tv station critical of the president. they continue their protest sit-in outside the building. observers in cairo say pro and anti-morsi demonstrators are

likely to clash once again. coerns are rising the military may interfere in the event of any confrontation. shouting slogans and holding up signs. kyoto professor shinya yamanaka has collected his medal for this year's nobel prize in physiology and medicine. for their work with stem cells that can be programmed to become cells in a human body. shefed his medal in a ceremony hall. yamanaka was introduced as someone who has provided the world with an invaluable method of developing therapies. sweden's king carl gustov xvi awarded him the prize. after the ceremony, yamanaka said he enjoyed the ceremony, but has yet to take a close look at the medal.

in neighboring norway, the ceremony for the nobel peace prize has taken place. the presidents of the eu three main institutions collected their medals. european counsel president, baraso and eu parliament president martin schultz jointly accepted the prize. the prize committee said the 27-nation bloc turned europe from a continent of war into a continent of peace. rampai vowed to strengthen european unity andverce th economic crisis. however, critics say the prize is inappropriate, pointing out that the eu has failed to limit the impact of europe's economic troubles. those same critics are pointing

at italy. what does this say about investors? >> it says that investors are selling bonds. that's why the yields are going up. it also implies these same people are getting cautious, incrsing cautious er the country. he says he will resign once the next budget bill is passed. the rates had been easing for about a month. the key index on the milan stock exchange plunged by nearly 4% ending the day with a 2.2% drop. the euro was traded lower against the dollar and the yen. the future of italian politics is now more cloudy. the announcement doesn't seem to have caused nu ed much trouble

investers outside of italy. over in the united states president obama said he is ready to compromise before plunging over the fiscal cliff. >> people have a lot of views. i'm willing to compromise a bit. we asked the wealthy to pay a higher tax rate and that's a principle i won't compromise on. >> he said he could make some concessions so he can take tax cuts for the middle class. some republican lawmakers may

agree to higher tax rates for the wealthy. let's get a check on the markets. profit taking on some blue chip shares is kicks in. let's get a check on currency. market players say dealers are waiting whether the fed will take further monetary easing measures. the dollar is trading at 82.42 to 44. the euro is trading higher against the yen. now, other markets in the asia pacific, south korea's kospi is trading higher at 1,963.

let's take a look at australia. it's trading higher by nearly half a percent. intelligence experts in the united states have released their predictions for global trends in the lead up to 2030. they say the u.s. won't be the world's only superpower. the council says china will pass the u.s. economically a few years before 2030. the council's analysts say the u.s. will remain unrivaled in its ability to orchestrate all aspects of power including the military it the analysts say the japanese economy will gradually shrink as the population ages and the labor force contracts. they say japan will retain fourth place in terms of overall power, trailing only the u.s., china and india. the council experts say asian countries such as india and indonesia are likely to boost their military power.

but they warn of an arms race in asia. if the u.s. scales back its military commitment in the region. they say some tionmay begin developing nuclear weapons. new car sales are fueling china's economy. sales grew 8.2% in november from the same time last year. officials say nearly 1.8 million units were sold last month. japanese firms lost out after chinese consumers boytted their vehicles over a territorial dispute. they saw a slight improvement last month.

total new car sales this china were sluggish in september as japanese cars fell out of favorite. sales have been growing for two straight months since october. the leaders of iraq say they are ready to make their coury a mayor player in the global oil market. they will double and quadruple oil output. businesses from arrange the world are eyeing with fresh interest. >> reporter: it holds some of the world's largest untapped reserves. basri has hosted a four day trade show. the oil market is called by some

take holder as the last frontier. this exhibition hall is full of businessmen from all over the world who seek a face in this huge market. more than 350 cpanies from 45 countries took part. they may be trading cautiously but japanese business and government have a close eye on iraq as a promising future energy source. >> translator: as one of the world's largest oil producers iraq offers a wide range of opportunities. >> reporter: chinese firms were prominent. the state run oilompany has already won the contract to

double up a huge oil field near the city. >> iraq is new market. it's booming for oil and gas. i see the risk. they're so nice. >> reporter: security remains precarious since the start of the 2003 iraq war. a string of terrorist attacks rock the country after the last u.s. troops pulled out a year ago. three major ethnic and religious groups are still jostling for control of political power, territory and all revenues. north korea has announced it will extend the period for iraq's oil men minister has set

an ambitious target. launching what it calls a >> translator: we welcome companies and want to show them what they can do to develop basra. >> reporter: iraq is now in a better position to attract investment with neighboring iran conquered by sanctions on its nuclear program. satellite carrying rocket by one it has overtaken iran to become the second largest opec producer. there's no doubt the energy sector hold the keys to iraq's reconstruction and the world

energy supply. >> that's the latest in business headlines for this hour. here is a look at markets in the region. they've told u.s. agencies that have exthe ended. the rocket will be carrying a satellite into orbit.

the real goal is to test the long range missile technology. north korea's committee of space technology said engineers found a technical problem with the first stage of the three stage rocket. the committee announced it will extend the period for lauhing byne week. north korea said it will launch the rocket between december 6th and the 22nd. the international maritime organization, and the international telecommunication union said they were told of the extension on monday. the maritime and aviation bodies use it for flight trajection. they have not provided information about a satellite's frequency or orbit. the international community

should take serious action against north korea if it goes ahead with the law firm. north korea domestic media have not reported the plan to launch a rocket. hillary clinton wants to persuade leaders to take a different path. she's appealing to china for help. ate departnt spokespson said clinton spoke by phone with foreign minister. >> the question was what influence china could bring to bear on the dprk to see reason and focus on the develop of their country and feeding of their people rather than on ballistic launches. >> deputy secretary of state william burns is scheduled to meet tuesday in washington.

a search for active earthquake faults near japan's nuclear power plant may lead to the scrapping of one of them. implications run deep. >> reporter: 17 commercial nuclear plants and one major test reactor have been built in japan. the nuclear regulation authority was formed after last year's disaster to monitor their safety. experts at the authority are trying to determine if any of the reactors lie above active fault lines. the tsuruga plant in central japan has been known to have an active fault running close by. the fault is called urasoko. another fault intersects with it. it runs right under the

facility's number two reactor. a team of experts dug up the ground at the plant so they could inspect the fault directly. the government panel examined the results of the so-called trade survey. panel members said on monday that the d-1 fault is probably active. they said that layers of earth near the fault have become deformed. the deformation is believed to cause d-1 to become active when national guidelines ban the building of major facilities directly above active faults. shunichi tanaka is the chairman of the nra. he had this to say. >> translator: under the current circumstances, it's my view that we cannot grant a permit to restart the plant's reactor.

>> reporter; the authority will hold a meeting to make a final determination on the fate of the tsuruga nuclear facility. if they conclude the d-1 fault is acte, t plant's operator will not be allowed to restart the number two reactor. it may have to be decommissioned. it will be the second japanese nuclear plant slated for decommissioning. the fukushima daiichi nuclear plant was closed after being crippled by last year's earthquake and tsunami. many other nuclear plants in japan could have active faults running directly underneath them. they include the ohi plant, which the government allowed to go back online in july. these findings are cerin to raise questions about the government's ability to make decisions concerning the regulation of nuclear energy. yoichiro tateiwa, nhk world. the operator of the tsuruga

plant issued a statement monday. the japan atomic power company says it's impossible to accept a finding based primarily on geographic facilies. the utility said it will conduct its own investigation and provide objective data. sri lanka's art scene long civil war. the island's w that peaceas returne passionate individuals want to revive those traditions. they include one woman striving to bring puppetry back to life.

nhk world has the story. ♪ a puppet's pins. its dress flutters. sri lankan puppetry dates back 300 years. this is a traditional puppet of sri lanka. you have to train at least five years to learn to move it freely. but the tradition is fading. a sad legacy of the country's long civil war. during the conflict, large outdoor events weren't possible because of the risk of bomb attacks. ♪ this woman is the stage director and a puppeteer.

while studying overseas, she became enchanted by puppets and their rich expressions. she found herself being lured into their world. >> they allow people to talk honestly to each other. and when you talk honestly, you start listening more. so that is why i feel that puppetry is a huge medium of communication in modern-day sri lanka. >> reporter: she recently had the honor of directing a performance with a puppet master. when he performs, behind the curtain, he moves in step with his puppets. believed showing his passionate

footwork to the audience would help them connect to the performance. the show opened in early november at a theater in colombo. the puppet dances elegantly to the music. a screen beside the stage shows images of the master's footwork as he manipulates his puppet. the audience is captivated. ♪ afterwards, he appears on stage and performs a traditional dance. ♪

he earned a big round of applause. >> translator: i was happy to see the images of how the puppet was handled. i'd never seen that before. >> i was having nightmares about it but it all happened beautifully, just like i imagined. i want puppets to be a medium for communication. >> reporter: people's lives are returning to normal in sri lanka after decades of civil war. she believes it's just as important to preserve traditions as it is to keep the country united. her effort to communicate that message through puppetry has only just begun. nhk world, colombo.

heavy snow is affecting many people in northern areas of japan. we have more from the weather desk. >> the wintry pressure pattern is weakening as we speak. the snow picture will be remaining across much o north western japan. this is the usual average, 130 centimeters. 18 centimeters but the average is about one centimeter. way above the normal territories. 180 centimeters of which 30 centimeters builds up in the course of hours. really heavy rain is pounding

the regions. the snowfall forecast into wednesday morning up to 70 centimeters. all the way down towards the south. owing know will be possible. visibility very low and traveling conditions will be very much disturbed. already we have cancellations and delays with the flights in the regions. the pacific side will be remaining dry and much warmer than we felt yesterday even though the temperatures are the same. it's about 11 degrees for the high in tokyo. minus one and it's about minus ten for your low. minus 17 is for your high.

moving over to the american continent we do have ten tornado touchdown reported in mississippi, louisiana and in florida as well. this is likely to continue due to this cold front that has been bringing so many hazardous weather conditions. we're talking about hail, damaging gusts. tornadic activity cannot be ruled out. we'll probably see some thunderstorms and on the severe side. this low pressure system is very activity. ast moves toward the northeast it will be distinguishing nova scotia. out towards the west of the pacific system will be slamming the region with high elevation seeing snow up to about 50 centimeters.

out toward the west things are looking very cold. you can see the jet stream dipping down. denv looking at 5 degrees. here in if european continent precipitation will be across much of the central region. things will be on the severe side. heavy snow there. 65 kilometers per hour gusts have been reported in much of the central regions. paris will be staying on the drier side. looks like you might get some snow on your tuesday. 4 degrees is for your high. here is our extended forecast.

>> that concludes this edition of "newsline." do stay with us.